About Democracy for NYC

Democracy for NYC (DFNYC) is committed to the ideals espoused by Democracy for America, the organization founded by Howard Dean, and the national network of local coalition groups dedicated to the same.

We work both locally and nationally to ensure that fiscally responsible and socially progressive candidates are elected at all levels of government. We develop innovative ways to advocate for the issues that matter to our members and support legislation which has a positive effect in our communities. We promote transparency and ethical practices in government. We engage people in the political process and give them the tools to organize, communicate, mobilize, and enact change on the local, state, and national level.

You will also have the opportunity to vote on endorsements in the races for US Senate (Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's seat) and President of the United States. In the Senatorial race, there is one Democrat: Sen. Gillibrand; three Republicans: Wendy Long, George Maragos and Bob Turner; one Green: Colia Clark; and one Independent; Scott Noren, a progressive Democrat running as an Independent.In the Presidential race, there is one Democrat: President Barack Obama; one Republican: Mitt Romney; three Greens: Roseanne Barr, Kent Mesplay, and Jill Stein; and one Justice Party candidate: Rocky Anderson.You can vote to endorse any of the candidates (if you do that it will be counted towards an endorsement of the winner in the party in which you vote), write in your own candidate, vote that DFNYC Not Endorse At This Time, or vote to Abstain.

Please follow the instructions on the ballot and either mail in your vote or bring to our big linkup on Wednesday, June 6th, 2012.

The following candidates have submitted answers to our official questionnaire, you can find those here:

JP Morgan Chase announced a $2 billion trading loss in two months from taking risky bets with other people's money. After the biggest financial crisis in generations, Wall Street has still not been held accountable and does not appear to consider itself responsible.

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon is also a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, where he advises the Federal Reserve on the oversight of the financial industry.

Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren is calling on Congress to put Wall Street reform back on the agenda and to begin by passing a new Glass-Steagall Act. This was the law that stopped investment banks from gambling away people's life savings for decades -- until Wall Street successfully lobbied to have it repealed in 1999.

Democracy for NYC joins with four NYC Councilmembers and Occupy Wall Street in calling for independent oversight of NYPD

New York, May 5, 2012 On Monday, April 30, 2012, a major lawsuit was filed by four City Councilmembers and members of Occupy Wall Street against officials of the New York City government and police department. This case, Rodriguez et al v Winski, City of New York Et Al, raises very important issues and Democracy for NYC wishes to applaud and announce our strong support for the recommendations requested by the plaintiffs.

In recent times, members of DFNYC have witnessed firsthand how the NYPD systematically violates the First Amendment rights of citizens in the name of security. What happened on the night of November 15, 2011, when Occupy Wall Street protesters were evicted from Zuccotti park, was just one in a long line of incidents in recent years where the NYPD has shown an increasing willingness to use force and intimidation to prevent people from lawfully gathering to express their political views and protest. As the lawsuit states, “Police misconduct has flourished over the last twenty years in New York City and is once again reaching critical mass.”

The board of directors of DFNYC joins with New York City Councilmembers Leticia James, Ydanis Rodriguez, Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Jumaane Williams and the other plaintiffs in calling for, in particular, the authorization of a court-appointed monitor/auditor to review the past and present activities of the NYPD.

When the civil rights of our citizens are infringed upon by the government, independent oversight becomes imperative to the preservation of liberty and democracy. We urge all elected officials throughout the five boroughs to speak out in favor of more oversight of the New York City Police Department.

March 26, 2012: Following a vote of its board of directors, Democracy for New York City, on behalf of its members, has passed a resolution which both states DFNYC's position against the current implementation of Mayoral Control, and specifically calls for a reduction of the mayor's appointments on the Panel for Educational Policy to a minority status.

From the beginning, Democracy for New York City has been an organization that is run from the bottom up - that's a vital part of our mission and reason for being. But in order to be that kind of organization, we need information from all of you, our members, about how we are doing - and what priorities to set for Democracy for NYC's focus in the new year.

Progressive organizations like ours thrive on member participation, so we've sent you a survey to find out what you think. It's in the mail now, so, please, take a moment to fill it out, either on paper or at this link:

Weblinks

A local coalition group of Democracy for America since 2004

Democracy for NYC (DFNYC) is committed to the ideals espoused by Democracy for America, the organization founded by Howard Dean, and the national network of local coalition groups dedicated to the same.